London: Vandals Daub Swastika on Jewish Home

Anti-Semitic incident appears to be the work of a lone vandal, but comes amid overall rise in anti-Semitism during Israel-Hamas conflict.

Contact Editor

Ari Soffer, 14/07/14 17:54

Swastikas (illustration)

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Residents of a family home in the London suburb of Hendon were alarmed after waking up to find a swastika daubed above the front door of their house Monday morning.

Speaking to Arutz Sheva, one of the residents - who asked not to be named - said CCTV cameras had caught the vandal in the act and that police had opened an investigation. He is described as a white male, apparently working alone.

He said it appeared to be a "one off" and speculated that his house may have been targeted in a case of mistaken identity, due to its close proximity to a local synagogue. But he said the incident was disturbing nonetheless.

"To wake up in the morning to find a large swastika, 4-5 inches high sprayed on the front of your house... I can't even begin to tell you how we felt," he said.

Pictures of the graffiti in the neighborhood - which has a large Jewish community - have been circulating online, but residents asked that media outlets respect their privacy and not reproduce it.

Rising anti-Semitism

The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions in Jewish communities worldwide, as extremist anti-Israel sentiment has spilled over into brazen anti-Semitism.

The Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors anti-Semitism in the UK, said that as of Monday 47 anti-Semitic incidents had been reported in the first two weeks of July alone, compared to 58 incidents in the entire month of June - representing an almost 100% rise. The CST said around 30 of those incidents appear to be linked to the current conflict between Israel and terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

Most consisted of verbal or written abuse including graffiti, emails and "face to face" abuse.

The most serious such incidents occurred in the northern city of Manchester following an anti-Israel march, when "a group of four of five cars with occupants of south Asian ethnic appearance passed through the Jewish neighbourhood of Broughton Park" and proceeded to hurl projectiles and shout insults at Jewish residents including "Heil Hitler".